A World Where You All Are The Villains - Chapter 130

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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130.

Resign from the Purifier Order?
I was flabbergasted by the Duke’s sudden declaration.
My lips fluttered like a fish’s as I barely managed to ask back.
“The Purifier Order… why all of a sudden?”
“I can’t bear to watch my only child teetering on death’s door any longer.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“How many times is this now?”
The Duke spoke curtly, his brow furrowed with displeasure.
For a moment, I thought I’d misheard him, my mouth falling open in shock.
It was precisely the kind of reason a normal parent would give.
It would have been less surprising if he’d instead reproached me for failing to properly purify Acarna.
“…”
Unable to fathom what to say, I remained silent for a while before speaking with a conflicted expression.
“…Honestly, I’m quite bewildered.”
“By what?”
“You wanted me to become an Awakener, Father. When I couldn’t, you took Ethan in as an adopted son, didn’t you?”
At my words, the Duke’s blue eyes widened for a moment.
After a brief pause, he answered in a subdued voice.
“…Taking in Ethan wasn’t solely for that reason.”
“…”
“At the time, there were circumstances that…”
“Whatever the reason may be.”
I wasn’t here to blame him for it now.
I shook my head and laid bare my true feelings.
“When I hadn’t awakened, you didn’t care whether I lived or died. I don’t understand why you’re like this now.”
“Not caring whether you lived or died? Is that what you say to your father?”
The Duke’s voice rose sharply.
But I remained unmoved, staring at him expressionlessly.
“Three months ago, when I came back from the dead at my own funeral.”
“…”
“Do you remember what you said to me first?”

― What were you thinking, dragging the Purifier to the Gate Occurrence Site?
― Do you have any idea how many people have been harmed because of you?

I remember it clearly.
Even in the chaos of just possessing this body, how utterly astounded I was….
No matter how much the Duke despised Edith Blake or considered her a burden, she was still his daughter who had hovered between life and death before barely opening her eyes.
Even I, a complete stranger, felt wronged and sorrowful—what would it have been like if I were truly Edith Blake?
No matter how steel-willed one might be, or even if the accident were her own doing, wouldn’t she have thought in that moment that it might have been better to simply die?
As I recalled that time and gazed quietly at the Duke.
It seemed he too remembered that moment, for the blue eyes meeting mine wavered faintly.
Apparently he hadn’t expected me to say such things, for he hesitated before responding.
“At that time….”
“Back then, you said that Ruellin’s death or injury would have been a greater tragedy than my own survival.”
“….”
“But now you’re telling me to abandon the Purifier Order because I nearly died? That’s far too sudden and strange.”
“…Edith Blake.”
“Is it because I’ve awakened as a Purifier?”
“….”
“Now that I’ve finally awakened and reached a presentable level, I keep collapsing and can’t properly fulfill my duties as a Purifier—are you worried I’ll bring shame to the family?”
Since this wasn’t my own matter, I felt no wound from it.
As I laid bare the thoughts the Duke likely harbored, his face contorted.
“That’s not… that’s not it!”
“….”
“It’s not that….”
My composed demeanor starkly contrasted with his vehement denial.
After a long silence, he finally opened his mouth heavily.
“…At that time, I couldn’t accept the fact that you had died.”
“….”
“It hadn’t even been ten years since your mother passed, and now my only remaining daughter was dead too. And she died after going to the Gate Site on her own two feet with a Purifier, no less….”
“….”
“I simply couldn’t believe it.”
As he recalled that moment, his face darkened with sorrow.
“I thought you were playing one of your usual terrible pranks. Or rather, I thought I was having a terrible nightmare.”
“….”
“You’ve always had a talent for causing accidents that made this father’s heart stop throughout your childhood.”
As he spoke those words, a faint smile crossed his face.
“Even then, I firmly believed you were playing another of your nasty pranks. So I didn’t even attend the funeral and left everything to Ethan.”
“….”
“But when I heard you had kicked open your coffin and awakened, I thought my instincts were right.”
“….”
“I thought you’d caused trouble again this time and even feigned death, so I was angry.”
It was something I’d heard from Vincent before.

―Still, the funeral was quite innovative, Edith Blake. I genuinely fell for it this time.

The Edith Blake they knew could certainly have invited such a misunderstanding.
After all, I had only read a fragment of the novel.
But.
“Even after I woke up from a coma that lasted a whole week.”
I responded to the Duke’s confession-like words in a voice devoid of any emotion.
Even if she had gone so far as to feign death to deceive people, unable to bear what I had done.
Hadn’t the Duke witnessed his daughter hovering at death’s door for an entire week?
That was something that could not be fabricated through jest or deception.
At my expression, as parched as withered emotion itself, the Duke’s lips moved several times.
Soon, as if somewhat confused, he gazed into empty space and spoke disjointedly.
“…I don’t understand why I was so angry with you either.”
“….”
“I shouldn’t have done that to a child who had just regained consciousness….”
In that instant, I saw belated regret flicker across his blue pupils.
I began to understand how things had unfolded.
The Duke must have been influenced by Ruellin’s mental manipulation as well.
It wasn’t as though Edith Blake had frequently feigned death.
His denial of reality upon hearing his child was dead had honestly seemed unnatural.
With that thought, it made sense why he had immediately questioned me about bringing the Purifier along when I had just awakened.
But understanding and feeling were separate matters.
‘So what? What am I supposed to do about it.’
Whether Ruellin manipulated the minds of those around her to become the heroine, or didn’t.
It made no sense to live as an ordinary family now.
Edith Blake could accept her biological father no matter what, but did I really need to do the same?
Besides, the Duke wasn’t even a particularly important figure for drawing Ruellin to this side.
Having made my decision, I coldly pushed away the bundle of documents the Duke offered.
“I can’t accept this. I want to achieve independence through my own strength.”
“….”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the part about quitting the Purifier Order.”
“Edith Blake!”
The Duke called out to me with a startled expression.
But I firmly pushed forward with my conviction.
“And as I said before, I’m not saying I’ll leave immediately. I’m an adult now, so I’m simply saying I’ll take care of myself.”
“….”
“I’ve become an Awakener just as you wished, Father.”
Surely he wouldn’t throw me out just because I refused a bit of wealth?
With that sudden worry, I asked in a deliberately gentle voice.
“So, could you wait just a little longer until then?”
I wanted to leave now and end this conversation.
For some reason, the Duke didn’t answer me immediately.
He had been staring at me with an unfamiliar gaze for a long while before suddenly calling out to me.
“Edith Blake, my child.”
“Yes, Father.”
As I answered promptly, he hesitated for a moment before asking.
“About registering Ethan in the family registry…
“…
Are you still upset and angry with me about that?”
He seemed to have guessed that my firm attitude stemmed from that very matter.
‘Well…’
What would Edith Blake have done?
She would likely have pouted, saying she was hurt and upset.
Then the Duke would have explained his reasons for registering Ethan as his son, and perhaps the bond between father and daughter would have grown even closer than before.
But.
For some reason, I didn’t want to do that.
I already knew from my dreams roughly why the Duke had taken Ethan as his adopted son, and as an adult, it was a reason I could understand.
But that didn’t heal the wounds that young Edith Blake had suffered back then.
That is to say…
The shock and despair she felt at being abandoned by her parents for not being an Awakener, the misery and sorrow.
Not even the pathetic longing to not be cast out, the desperate desire to be loved—none of it could be made whole again.
“It seemed that way back then…”
“…”
“But it’s been so long now that it doesn’t matter anymore.”
With those words, I smiled gently.
I was smiling because I truly was fine.
Yet strangely, the Duke’s expression crumbled slowly.
I didn’t want to be trapped in an awkward situation.
“May I leave now?”
The moment I stood up to go, the Duke suddenly murmured as if in lamentation.
“…When I had you, I swore I would raise you more precious and cherished than anyone else in the world.”
“…”
“I don’t understand how it came to this.”
His eyes wavered uncertainly, as if he truly couldn’t fathom where, what, or how things had gone wrong.
Faced with his regretful expression, I felt only bewilderment.
Because I understood far too well why things had become this way.
‘Isn’t the answer painfully simple?’
Once he actually raised me, I was never as precious or cherished as he had promised.
I left those words unsaid, lodged at the tip of my tongue, and walked out of the Duke’s Office.

***

I had just stepped into the Lobby when I was heading back to my Room.
“…That won’t do. The young lady is still….”
“Just let me see her face for a moment, will you? It’ll only take a second.”
I stopped dead in my tracks upon spotting a figure quarreling with the Butler at the Entrance Hall.
“…Vincent?”
At the sound of my voice, both of them spun around to face me.
“…Edith Blake.”
“Ah, young lady. Already….”
The Butler’s expression grew troubled.
It seemed he had been blocking Vincent’s visit because I was in the midst of meeting with the Duke.
Seizing the moment of the Butler’s hesitation, Vincent pushed past him and approached me swiftly.
“Your body. Are you feeling better now?”
“As you can see.”
I shrugged my shoulders and immediately asked in return.
“What are you doing here?”
“I heard that you… had awakened….”
He replied hesitantly, uncharacteristically gauging my reaction.
Then he hurriedly turned to leave.
“Now that I’ve seen you’re awake, I should go….”
“No, actually, your timing is perfect. I had something to tell you anyway.”
“Something to tell me…?”
At my words, Vincent’s darkened face suddenly brightened.
But soon, anxiety flickered across those brilliant golden eyes.
He seemed unable to fathom what I might say.
“Butler, could you bring us some tea?”
I headed toward the Reception Room first, leaving him behind.

***

Inside the Reception Room.
Facing the tea the Butler had brought, we sat across from each other in silence, neither of us speaking.
Vincent fidgeted restlessly, toying with his teacup and the table.
I regarded him coolly before suddenly opening my mouth.
“You don’t need to undergo the Purification.”

67%

From his battles with monsters in Acarna, his stats had risen considerably compared to the last time I’d checked.
Thinking back to when he was at ‘71%’ and desperately searching for Ruellin, it made sense that he’d been frequenting the Duke’s Mansion so often.
“It’s not severe enough to cause a rampage.”
I meant it as reassurance, but his expression grew stern.
“That’s not why I came.”
“….”
“This time, I really did come to pay you a visit….”
“Pfft.”
Despite his earnest words, laughter burst from me unbidden.
Perhaps it was because this moment, here in the Reception Room with him, overlapped with our very first meeting?

― I thought you’d die for certain, yet somehow you’ve come back to life.

Back then, he’d spouted such venomous words with such an innocent, gentle expression….
“I’m sorry. What you said just struck me as funny.”
As I apologized with a weak smile, Vincent’s face hardened terrifyingly.
For a long moment he stared at me in silence, then spoke in a trembling voice.
“…While we were apart, I’ve been thinking about the dreams.”
“What dreams?”
“You said I’ve been having dreams about you.”
“Ah, yes.”
I already knew that the male leads’ memories—which Ruellin had manipulated—were gradually returning.
But what Vincent said next was truly something I hadn’t anticipated.
“I think we’ve been deceived by Ruellin all this time, Edith Blake.”
“…What?”
“Perhaps Ruellin wasn’t the Purifier after all….”
“….”
“Wasn’t it you who was purifying us all?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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